OUVRAGE : D.P. Forsythe, The Contemporary International Committee of the Red Cross: Challenges, Changes, Controversies

David P. FORSYTHE

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was founded in 1863 and is often considered the gold standard in humanitarian action. Despite its many positive achievements over more than 150 years, some former ICRC officials believe that the organization is now in decline because of a series of recent policy choices. Their view is that the organization has undermined its reputation for independent and neutral humanitarian action, while growing too fast and too large, which has weakened its reputation for quick, tightly focused, and effective action in the field. David P. Forsythe revisits the ICRC policy decisions of recent decades and suggests that the organization is not in fatal decline, but that it does need to reconsider some of its policies at the margins. Though some errors have been made and some corrections are in order, Forsythe argues that its obituary is premature.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Photographs page
Preface: Who and Why

1. The Contemporary ICRC and Its Critics: The Slippery Slope of Decline?
2. The ICRC and the Global Humanitarian System: The Critics in Context
3. History: Part I – The Gentlemen of Geneva and Dunant’s Dream
4. History: Part II – From the Death of Moynier to the End of the Cold War
5. The Red Cross Movement: Part I – The Swiss and the Rest
6. The Red Cross Movement: Part II – Seville and Syria
7. ICRC Relations with Bern: Part I – Losing the Moral Compass
8. ICRC Relations with Bern: Part II – More Controversy
9. Humanitarians and Business: Part I – For Humanity?
10. Humanitarians and Business: Part II – The World Economic Forum
11. Interpreting the Mandate: Part I – From Relief to Resilience
12. Interpreting the Mandate: Part II – Urban Violence and Migration
13. Has the Traditional Focus Been Lost?: Part I – Laws of War
14. Has the Traditional Focus Been Lost?: Part II – Political Prisoners
15. ICRC Governance and Management: Part I – The Top Level
16. ICRC Governance and Management: Part II – On Down the Line
17. Conclusion: Part I – Summing Up
18. Conclusion: Part II – The Future

Epilogue: The War in Ukraine – Challenges and Controversies
Annex: ICRC Organizational Chart
Index

David P. FORSYTHE, The Contemporary International Committee of the Red Cross: Challenges, Changes, Controversies, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2024 (488 pp.)